Shillong Feb 20:  The Hynñiewtrep Achik National Movement (HANM) has threatened to intensify its agitations if the Meghalaya government continues to delay in resolving the long pending inter-state boundary dispute with Assam.
The HANM said this during a sit-in-demonstration organized by its Land Protection Cell at the parking lot near Additional Secretariat here on Wednesday.
HANM president, Lamphrang Kharbani told reporters that the demonstration was held to mount pressure on the state government to speed up the process of solving the boundary dispute.
Kharbani reminded that the ruling National People’s Party (NPP) is demanded to fulfill its promises made before the 2018 Assembly elections.
He informed that the state government will invite the organization for talks after the February 27-district council polls.
“However, if the proposed talks with the government is not positive, we have decided to intensify our agitations,” Kharbani said.
He said that the delay in resolving the issue has further encouraged Assam to encroach into Meghalaya’s land.
“We have witnessed numerous problems and hardships that people along the inter-state boundary are facing. How many more lives the government wants to lose due to this problem. This problem has also led to the state losing many villages including areas under Block I & II to Assam though the areas fall under the erstwhile United Khasi-Jaiñtia Hills,” he said.
He also cited an instance of the recent incident of clash between the Assam police and Khasi villagers at Umwali village near Langpih.
Kharbani also said that the government should ask different Himas to provide land documents for staking claims over disputed border areas.
Meanwhile, the HANM leader said that his organisation favoured the demand to have a referendum as one of the solutions to end the long pending boundary dispute between the two states.
“If referendum is implemented, it will allow the people residing in the border to decide to which state they want to belong to especially if the two state governments are not serious in resolving the problem,” Kharbani said.